CONTENTS

The Chairman of the Saint Egidio Community Marco Impagliazzo and
professor Mario Marazziti have expressed hope that the Inter-Religious
Dialogue Meeting, organised in Cyprus by the Saint Egidio Community,
would help open the dialogue between Cyprus and Turkey, and expressed
the wish to be able to contribute towards restoring derelict Christian
places of worship in the Turkish occupied areas.

According to a press release, the Saint Egidio Community held a press
conference in Rome on Friday, during which the organisers thanked the
Church of Cyprus for hosting the 21st Meeting and referred to Cyprus as
an ``island of dialogue.``

They said Cyprus is a place in which the people strongly expressed the
will to live together and maintain a dialogue between different
religions.

Impagliazzo and Marazziti furthermore noted that the election of
Demetris Christofias to the presidency of the Republic brought ``new
elements of dialogue`` and expressed hope that this would help start a
dialogue between Cyprus and Turkey.

A training exercise for civil protection and assistance for affected
countries began on Saturday in Cyprus, with the help of German
organisations and sources, with the participation of the island`s Civil
Defence.

The official commencement of the exercise will be held on Sunday at
Rodon hotel in the village of Agros. The training session begins on
Saturday with the arrival and briefing of the trainees.

The programme includes, inter alia, a three-day exercise, from November
10 to 12, which will cover the districts of Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca
and Paphos.

The German Federal Technical Assistance Service, the Cyprus Civil
Defence and the non governmental organisation of the Knights of Saint
John for the provision of international humanitarian assistance, which
have jointly undertaken to organize the next two important training
exercises of the EU in civil protection issues, have decided that these
will be carried out in Cyprus with the participation of a large number
of Cypriot departments.

According to the scenario, a powerful earthquake hits Cyprus with many
human losses and material damage, which also causes incidents such as a
tsunami, chemical and toxic substance leaks, and other problems,
leading the government to request the assistance of the EU.

In order to evaluate the situation, the EU sends assessment teams,
which visit vital importance services and organisations, using aircraft
and other means.